10 ways to manage your money as a student
When a person is studying generally has a limited amount of income and although the expenses they have are not so high (usually mortgages, leases, among others do not fall into the categories of "student"), many face the difficulty of saving , order your accounts and generate extra income.
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To make your life easier and help you organize your money we present 10 ideas:
1. Get organized
The organization can save you a lot of money. If you get up early and have breakfast, you will not need to spend money on a mid-morning snack or a coffee on campus. You will have more energy if you go to bed early and worry about resting.
Plan your budget and record your cash outflows (food purchases, meals, rent, university payments, transportation, services ...) and assign an amount. If you know your economic reality it will be easier to take responsibility and be able to manage your money efficiently.
2. Rent or sell your textbooks
If you have finished a semester or course and will no longer use the textbooks you have purchased, consider selling them. Many students are looking for bargains when they get the books, one of the most expensive materials. So at least you can get some money from your investment.
You can also sell other things, like clothes, shoes, furniture ... Everything you are not going to use. Post ads on campus or at the residence and get some extra money.
3. Save on food and drink
In addition to taking the time in the morning for breakfast, consider buying a bottle of water or a container to take to classes and not having to buy it every day. You can also prepare your lunch at home and skip spending in the campus cafeteria. If you drink coffee, prepare it at home and take it to school in a container that keeps the heat.
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4. Open a bank account
Consider this possibility; it is a way of not having the money at hand to spend. Instead you can save it for an emergency and in the meantime generate some interest. Find out about the options for college students, which usually have very useful benefits.
5. Keep a return
One of the main recommendations that financial consultants give to people of all ages is that they keep a form with their expenses and income.
Making a form is very simple. You should only consider your income (tutorials, classes, monthly payments) and your expenses (lunches, photocopies, transportation, leisure) and divide them by month. This way you can see effectively where your money is going and what cuts you can make.
6. Cut in variable expenses
Always among your expenses, you will have some fixed and other variables; for example, transportation is fixed while the money you spend on recreational activities could be variable since it can change.
It is important that you determine the importance of these variable expenses once your spreadsheet is done and thus see what expenses you can cut.
7. Save an amount
When you have your form ready and determine what expenses are necessary, it will be time to save. The good thing about saving your money is that it can be the amount you deem appropriate.
Savings accounts in the bank are usually very flexible, so it will depend on how much money you want to deposit in them.
8. Think before you buy
One recommendation to keep your money in order and stay financially stable until the end of the month, is to ask yourself the question "do I really need this?" And "will I want it in a couple of days?".
Before buying you should always take a couple of minutes to meditate on the need for the item you buy and if you really want it. If this is the case, you can save to get it later, instead of making a hasty decision.
9. Bring lunch
As explained above, the expenses that surround students generally consider transportation, food and materials. Of these, food is probably the item that consumes most of your monthly income.
That's why we recommend that instead of spending money in the cafeteria of the university or Higher Education Institute, or buying food in the vicinity, bring food from your home. If you compare it month to month you will realize how much you can save by applying this simple measure.
10. Get out with the money you need
Part of being a student is going out and meeting new people. However, when you do, you should keep in mind how much money you want to spend. A suggestion is to take the money in cash or use a card, but it is very clear how much you want to spend on that exit.
Bonus tip
Think of starting a small business like selling hand made stuffs to your friends in college. Although you may wonder where you can get all the time to do that, why not consider hiring a professional to do your homework and papers for money like Essays Match (essaysmatch.com). Through them, you can have the time to sell products to your friends.